Down on the Farm: Checking in on the Nationals’ Top-10 Prospects
By Pablo Roa
No. 9: Austin Voth, RHP – Double-A Harrisburg
The Nationals drafted Austin Voth, 22, in the fifth round of the 2013 First-Year Player draft and the young right-hander has quickly made his way up the Nationals’ farm system.
After joining the Nationals in 2013, Voth made his way from the team’s Gulf Coast League affiliate to Class-A Hagerstown in just half a season. The right-hander went 3-0 with 55 strikeouts and a 1.75 ERA in 46 1/3 innings in 2013.
As good as Voth was in 2013, he was even better in 2014. The right-hander continued his rapid ascent up the Nationals’ farm system, starting the year at Hagerstown before being promoted to High-A Potomac and making it all the way to Double-A Harrisburg by the end of the year.
Voth dominated for most of 2013, posting great ERAs for Hagerstown and Potomac, but struggled a bit after being promoted to Double-A Harrisburg, where he went 1-3 with a 6.52 ERA. But given the fact that he was pitching in college just last year, it’s understandable that he hit a minor speed bump on what has so far been a fast-track to the majors.
At just 22 years old, Voth could be ready to join the big league club in 2016 and has the potential to become a solid major league starter. The right-hander relies on a fastball that he can use to pound all corners of the strike zone. Although his fastball rarely breaks out of the low-90s, his excellent command should help him develop into a 200+ innings a year starter.
The Nationals have plenty of talented young pitchers in the minor leagues that have the potential to become big league superstars, and Voth is no exception.